#Iceberg model of culture examples skin

This core belief gives meaning to the idea of gender equality in the context of beauty and it currently manifests itself in a number of ways in consumer behavior. Gender equality = the flexibility to disconnect from the world around you. Going back to the case of gender equality in beauty, here's one example of a core belief we uncovered by taking an anthropological approach and using the iceberg model. That is, the motivation behind wanting to do something. They are almost never truly logical, and they teach us about 'the why'. Core BeliefsĬore Beliefs are ways in which people give meaning to trends or ideas in culture. It's what we would consider a 'packaged representation' of something that is actually a lot more exciting or challenging. It's also partly because you as a researcher have not realized that what you think is the trend is actually just the most logical version of that trend. And in the modern context, there's so much pressure on sounding logical or 'of sound mind' that some kind of logical framework is inevitably placed around the response. It's partly because consumers have a very difficult time reflecting on why they think the way they do.

#Iceberg model of culture examples skin

natural looks, less makeup, better focus on skin health etc. If you ask consumers about it, you'll get logical and anticipated responses that are all typically well above the surface. Let's say you care about gender equality in beauty. It is the most logical version of that trend. The iceberg model of 'meaning' tells us that the culture or trend (or whatever you'd like to call it) that we all see above the surface is actually ONLY the macro-version of that trend. We want to discover what lurks beneath the surface of these icebergs and we want to be able to judge well in advance whether these offer incredible threats or exciting opportunities for our businesses.

Which is exactly why we are so passionate about the application of anthropology to the study of culture and trends in society. At which point we come up with ideas like 'fast follow' to try and compensate but the results are rarely powerful. The problem is that by the time we discover that this previously benign iceberg is actually a game changer for our business. No, this isn't the plotline to the Titanic (film), but rather a common problem we all face in corporate research and development. But as we get closer we start to discover that it may be a significant threat to our very existence. We take a look at it from afar and it seems like it is fairly benign. And we are, as insight and innovation leaders, sitting on a ship headed towards it.